In the workplace, an evaluation is a tool employers use to review the performance of an employee. Usually, the employee's supervisor (and frequently, a more senior manager) is responsible for evaluating the employee. A private conference is often scheduled to discuss the evaluation.
The evaluation, which typically occurs once during the year (e.g., end of the year), includes an assessment as to how well the employee is doing. Sometimes, this may include a scale rating indicating strengths and weaknesses in key areas (e.g., following instructions, promptness, and ability to get along with others). Often, the supervisor and manager will discuss the key areas.
The evaluation may also include employee goals that are expected to be met (or have significant progress made) by a set time, such as the next evaluation. Sometimes, the employee may voluntarily offer a goal, while other times it will be set by the employee's boss.
Furthermore, the evaluation may include the sharing of feedback by the worker's fellow employees and supervisors. The employee is given his/her chance to share his/her feelings, concerns and suggestions about the workplace as well.
Typically, supervisors/managers spend many hours in assessing the employee, such as time spent gathering feedback about the employee that was made during the year by reviewing e-mails, notes and calendar entries pertaining to the employee. As a result of gathering feedback once during the year, such as at the end of the year, some of the relevant feedback may not be identified and hence not used in assessing the employee.
Furthermore, such evaluation processes fail to consider feedback about the employee that was made using social media (e.g., activity stream, profile, wall, microblog). For example, colleagues of the employee may provide comments about the employee's work on social media. Neither does such evaluation processes attempt to provide managers and employees guidance and recommended actions in meeting goals throughout the year.
As a result, current evaluation processes lack a means for effectively allowing the manager to consider all relevant information, including employee feedback from social media sources, in assessing the employee as well as actively evaluating the employee performance and recommending actions in accomplishing goals for the employee throughout the year.